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April 17, 2012

Why Ann Romney Hasn't Worked a Day in her Life

This week, democratic pundit and strategist, Hilary Rosen, accused Ann Romney, the wife of the Republican nominee-apparent, of "having never worked a day in her life." Rosen's comments sparked quite a bit of debate and controversy from Mrs. Romney, and both women on the right and left. Ann Romney responded predictably. She perceived Rosen's comments as an attack on motherhood itself and an implication that mothers who remain in the home to raise children are not doing "real," credible work.

Rosen eventually backed out of her original claim and apologized for her remarks. I suppose Rosen was instructed to do this by the Obama camp. If she had been left to respond without apprehension, I believe she would have gotten to the core of her argument.

Wealthy women of means who choose to stay at home and raise their children, never do so alone. Women of average means who make the decision to remain at home and raise their children, usually do so with great logistical and financial difficulty. As a mother who has both remained at home and returned to the workforce while raising children, I am very well acquainted with the extreme difficulty of both decisions. At-home mothers of average means single-handedly become maid, cook, nanny, chaffeur, lover, and confidante. The at-home mom must manage several feeding schedules, multiple homework assignments from varying grade levels, several sports agendas, different meal plans for all of the allergies in the house, a cleaning and laundry schedule, all while remaining positive, slender, and sexually available for her well-meaning yet clueless husband.

Does anyone honestly believe that a-day-in-the-life of Ann Romney ever resembled any of the chaos above. Ann Romney is a privileged mother, and privileged mothers are privileged because they don't have to bother with the drudge and nastiness of every day life. Women like Ann Romney may have one set of domestic workers to clean their huge estates and another set to manage and plan the meals for their families. Often times, wealthy mothers employ nannies to do most of the work that we call motherhood.

So to assert that Ann Romney never worked a day in her life should be always already understood.